Page Links

16 March 2014

Blog Tour: 'Take Mum Out' by Fiona Gibson (2014)

Three blind dates

Two teenage boys messing up her plans

And one man who'll melt Alice's heart.

'You need to get back in the saddle…' Alice despises that phrase. She's fine being single – with two slothful teenage boys and a meringue business to run, she has enough on her plate without negotiating the troublesome world of modern dating.

However, Alice's three best friends have other ideas. Each one will present her with an utterly delicious, eligible man – all Alice has to do is pick her favourite.

Today I’m really excited to be a part of the blog tour for Fiona Gibson’s latest release, ‘Take Mum Out’! I received an early review copy of the book and was really looking forward to reading it, because I hadn’t read any of Fiona Gibson’s work before. I don’t really know why, especially because I loved the covers for ‘Pedigree Mum’ and ‘The Great Escape’ and I think I even have copies of both of these books in my book collection somewhere. However, I love discovering new authors and the fact that I would be part of this blog tour provided me with the chance to really sit down with Fiona’s new book and discover her writing!

It has been six years since Alice Sweet’s divorce from her now ex-husband Tom and she is content with her life, even though it does not include any new romance. Alice is occupied with her part-time job as a school secretary, her own meringue business ‘Sugar Mummy’, and taking care of her two teenage sons Logan and Fergus; there’s hardly any time left to find Mr. Right! However, Alice’s three best friends decide it is time for her to start dating again, no matter what she tells herself; she needs to get back in the saddle. Each of her friends will set Alice up with a single man of their choice, which results in a string of dates with various handsome men. Suddenly, Alice is reminded of the fact that she is much more than a mum, but is the right guy out there for her and will she have the time to combine it all?

I was definitely pleasantly surprised by this novel. The past couple of months I’ve read numerous novels about mums trying to figure out their lives, and while ‘Take Mum Out’ doesn’t have a too intricate or original plot, the execution of it is simply wonderful. The main character in the book, Alice, is incredibly likeable and I loved being able to join her on her journey towards finding a man that is right for her while dealing with her two teenage sons , her part-time job and her own yummy meringue business at the same time. The fact that she has quite a lot going on in her life resulted in many entertaining and laugh-out-loud situations, and I can honestly say there wasn’t even a second to get bored while reading this novel. Next to Alice, there’s a great cast of secondary characters, including the various men Alice goes on a date with (such as dentist Stephen and 10-years-younger Giles who has a specific love for older women) and her two teenage sons, Logan and Fergus, who are portrayed incredibly realistically and I found it difficult not to warm to them!

Fiona Gibson has a great and particularly witty writing style which makes this book a true pleasure to read. It was really easy to get into the story and it managed to keep me entertained from beginning to end. I can imagine most of the scenes in the novel might be quite relatable to other mothers out there, but even if you’re not a mum (yet), this novel is a real treat. ‘Take Mum Out’ is a truly delightful, down-to-earth and warm read; I’m so glad I was introduced to Fiona Gibson’s writing and I definitely look forward to reading more of her work in the future!